File system domain

Overview

Using the SDK it is possible to create, save, load, rename, and delete files in the controller file system. It is also possible to create and delete directories.

Accessing files and directories

You can access the file system domain through the Controller property FileSystem.

FileSystem aFileSystem = aController.FileSystem;

Controller and PC directory

You can get and set the directory on the controller and on the local PC system using the RemoteDirectory and LocalDirectory properties.

string remoteDir = aController.FileSystem.RemoteDirectory;
string localDir = aController.FileSystem.LocalDirectory;

Environment variables

When specifying file system paths you can use environment variables to denote the HOME, system, backup, and temp directories of the currently used system. When an application uses “(BACKUP)$” it is internally interpreted as the path to the backup directory of the current system. The other environment variables are: HOME, TEMP and SYSTEM.

Loading files

You can load a file from the controller to the PC using the GetFile method. The method generates an exception if the operation did not work. The arguments are complete paths including filenames.

aController.FileSystem.GetFile(remoteFilePath, localFilePath);

Saving files

You can save a file on the controller file system by using the PutFile method. The method generates an exception if the operation did not work. The arguments are complete paths including filenames.

aController.FileSystem.PutFile(localFilePath, remoteFilePath);

CopyFile and CopyDirectory

The PutFile/GetFile methods generate a copy of a file and transfer it to or from the controller file system. Using the Copyfile and CopyDirectory you can create a copy directly on the controller:

aController.FileSystem.CopyFile(fromFilePath, toFilePath, true);
aController.FileSystem.CopyDirectory(fromDirPath, toDirPath, true);

Getting multiple files and directories

The FileSystem class has a method called GetFilesAndDirectories. It can be used to retrieve an array of ControllerFileSystemInfo objects with information about individual files and directories. The ControllerFileSystemInfo object can then be cast to either a ControllerFileInfo object or a ControllerDirectoryInfo object.

This example uses search pattern to limit the search.

ControllerFileSystemInfo[] anArray;
ControllerFileSystemInfo info;
anArray = aController.FileSystem.GetFilesAndDirectories("search pattern");
for (int i = 0; i < anArray.Length; i++) 
{
    info = anArray[i];
    ......
}

Using search patterns

As seen in the preceding example, you can use search patterns to locate files and directories using the GetFilesAndDirectories method. The matching process follows the Wildcard pattern matching in Visual Studio. The following is a brief summary:

Character in pattern	Matches in string
?	Any single character
*	Zero or more characters
#	Any single digit (0–9)
[]	Any single character in
[!]	Any single character not in

Tip

Find out more about the FileSystemDomain in the API Reference help.